Strange Written English Requirement policy at Excelsior or confused adviser

[UptonSinclair]

I received an update from my advisor at Excelsior today. According to her reading of the Liberal Arts catalog, if you choose to use applied writing courses to meet the Written English Requirement, it takes two of them in addition to the one freshman comp class I am currently working on. So, in her understanding, it takes two upper level writing courses to equal one lower level writing course. It feels like she gave me bad information to start with and doubled down when I challenged it. I hope her superiors will straighten her out since I have asked for a second opinion.

[bluebooger]

... if you choose to use applied writing courses to meet the Written English Requirement, it takes two of them in addition to the one freshman comp class... So, in her understanding, it takes two upper level writing courses to equal one lower level writing course. .

I can kind of see her reasoning
a lower level composition course usually covers many different kinds of writing techniques

for example, straigheterline's english composition I

"The online English composition course examines
five fundamental types of writing:
compare and contrast,
argumentative,
persuasive,
narrative,
and descriptive"

English Composition I - English - Online College Courses | StraighterLine

the advisor is probably thinking the applied writing course will focus on only one of those aspects,
so you need 2 courses to get a broad exposure to different styles of composition

[UptonSinclair]

At BYU, the writing requirements are one freshman comp class and one advanced writing class in the discipline of your degree. My daughter attends Colorado State where they do the same thing. I prefer this approach to two semesters of freshman comp. There is a debate between those who believe a broad writing curriculum is better than a specialized writing curriculum, but by my reading of Excelsior's catalog, it appears they have chosen to stay out of the debate. There are multiple ways of meeting their writing requirement. They list one semester of freshman comp and one semester of technical writing as meeting the requirement, so I fail to see how writing in the Social Sciences is different.

When I first approached my advisor on the subject, she couldn't even find the course at BYU, which can be done with about 2 seconds on Google. I believe she jumped to a standard answer before doing any research on the classes then, when I challenged her on it, she doubled down. It wouldn't surprise me if they discourage people from meeting the written English requirement with upper division courses, but I am pretty cynical when it comes to higher education. I am waiting for a response from the assistant director. I will be sure to update the thread with my outcome.

[UptonSinclair]

In the end, I lost the battle. It looks like I am going to be taking three English Composition classes. I guess a fly-by-night school like Brigham Young University that has been around since 1921 doesn't meet the high standards of Excelsior College.

[publius2k4]

In the end, I lost the battle. It looks like I am going to be taking three English Composition classes. I guess a fly-by-night school like Brigham Young University that has been around since 1921 doesn't meet the high standards of Excelsior College.

I'd say just take the super expensive ECE exam. Taking the test is definitely better than taking the course. Then, you can apply your upper level course to your major rather than use it to satisfy Gen Ed requirements.

[UptonSinclair]

I am just going to suck it up and take the extra writing course. I plan to do the WNMU graduate program next, so the extra writing experience won't hurt. I just needed to vent about what I see as blatant stupidity on the part of Excelsior. If it weren't for the enrollment fee that I have already paid, I would be attending TESC.

[publius2k4]

I am just going to suck it up and take the extra writing course. I plan to do the WNMU graduate program next, so the extra writing experience won't hurt. I just needed to vent about what I see as blatant stupidity on the part of Excelsior. If it weren't for the enrollment fee that I have already paid, I would be attending TESC.

As a last ditch effort, you could always go over the advisor's head and email the registrar.

[UptonSinclair]

I might try that Publius. I am going to wait until I finish the second writing course and see if the reviewer gives me credit for my Written English Requirement. If not, I may send an email to the dean of the liberal arts college and see if I can accomplish anything. Either way, I am within 30 credits of finishing my BS so my dealings with Excelsior should be limited.

[rntobe3069]

I might try that Publius. I am going to wait until I finish the second writing course and see if the reviewer gives me credit for my Written English Requirement. If not, I may send an email to the dean of the liberal arts college and see if I can accomplish anything. Either way, I am within 30 credits of finishing my BS so my dealings with Excelsior should be limited.

I took the two English courses in a community college. But for the Expository Writing requirement for EC's BSN requirement, I just finished that up with BYU and EC accepted it. It was under $500. The problem with BYU is that the turnaround for grades is two weeks per assignment. It through my BSN completion off by an entire semester because I missed the registration deadlines because of waiting for grades. However, it was still less than 15 weeks as the course was self-paced. Now, I have registered to take 4 EC courses at once in order to make the January capstone course. Worst case scenario is that I will be in the April capstone if I bomb the two exams and repeat them in their course version.

[rntobe3069]

As a last ditch effort, you could always go over the advisor's head and email the registrar.

I think you and I are practically neighbors. I live in Lakeland, not far from Moody AFB. Small world indeed!